working memory model

• The working memory model was created by baddely+hitch
• the working memory model argues memory is not a unitary store (as multi store model believes it is)
• working memory model theorised 3 different stores for stm: central executive, phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad
• working memory model states central executive is responsible for monitoring sensory info and allocating it to the appropriate store
• the working memory model states the visuospatial sketch pad stores visual and spatial info, helping us navigate the world and process what we see
• the working memory model states that the phonological loop is responsible for auditory info and keeps info in chronological order, capacity is only around 2 secs
• the working memory model sates the eposodic buffer is a temporary store for information and is described as the bridge between stm and ltm
• patient KF can be used as evidence for the working memory model as after a brain injury to left paritel region he had poor stm auditory abilities but no impairment to visual spatial abilities- shows memory to be stored in different parts of the brain
• working memory model proposes memory to be an active processor of info (unlike MSM)
• working memory model believes stm doesn’t only store information, but processes it as well
• limitation of WMM- lack of clarity over the nature of the central executive - baddely recognised that while the central executive id the most important feature of wmm, it is also the least understood. it needs to be more specific rather than just simply being 'attention'
• dual task performance - supports separate stores of memory - participants carried out a verbal task and a visual task at the same time and at different times - performance was similar each time. But when both tasks were verbal or both tasks were visual, performance declined. - shows the separation between Visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop
• phonological loop - responsible for information in terms of sound - including written and spoken materials. divided into the phonological store (words we hear) and articulatory process (allows for maintenance rehearsal loop)
• VSS - stores visual and spatial information. divided into visual cache (store of visual data) and inner scribe (records the arrangement of objects in a visual field) - the VSS has a limited capacity of 3-4 objects